Tribune to appeal ownership ban

Tribune Co. will ask the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to operate newspapers and television stations in the same markets, according to the company's Washington lobbyist, Shaun Sheehan.

The Chicago-based media conglomerate suffered the latest in a string of frustrating setbacks last Friday, when a federal appeals court rejected Tribune's request to lift the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) cross-ownership ban.

If the ban remains, Tribune must begin divesting either newspapers or television stations in New York, Los Angeles, South Florida and Connecticut beginning in 2006, when its broadcast licenses in those markets come up for renewal.

The ban doesn't apply to Tribune's Chicago holdings, because the firm's ownership of Channel 9/WGN-TV and the Chicago Tribune predates the FCC regulation.

The agency itself moved to lift the ban as part of a larger media deregulation push during June 2003. But a legislative and legal backlash ensnarled the effort in the courts. A June 2004 federal court ruling rejected the larger deregulation push, but said the FCC was acting within its rights by lifting the cross-ownership ban.

That appeared to put Tribune in the clear. But when the company asked the court for the green light to renew its broadcast licenses in the controversial markets, the court denied the request.

"We're going to try to take this to the Supreme Court," says Mr. Sheehan. "Whether they take it or not, we'll see."

Mr. Sheehan said he'd be more optimistic if the FCC joined in the appeal, an action he deemed unlikely with a presidential election looming only months away.

The results of the election may loom large for Tribune. President George W. Bush appointed Michael Powell, a deregulation advocate, to lead the current FCC. His challenger, Democrat Sen. John Kerry, has repeatedly spoken out against media deregulation.